Ola promoting clean fuel cabs in its fleet as it tries to adhere to the law

Ola has started offering discounts of Rs 60,000 to its registered drivers who wish to buy new CNG-run cars from manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors.ET Bureau | August 27, 2015, 08:55 IST

In a bid to increase the number of clean fuel cabs on its platform and comply with directions of the Delhi High Court, online taxi aggregator Ola has started offering discounts of Rs 60,000 to its registered drivers who wish to buy new CNG-run cars from manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors.

The company, which is currently banned from operating on Delhi roads, is offering zero commission and a moratorium on EMIs to drivers for two months, if they buy and register a CNG car on its platform. From Wednesday, the SoftBank-funded firm has started offering also a zero-down payment scheme against resale value of old diesel cars, in case drivers want to exchange them for a CNG vehicle. The move by Ola is aimed at becoming compliant with the law, even as a contempt petition is to be heard next week by the Delhi High Court against Ola Founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati for violating the ban by continuing operations.

As per a Supreme Court ruling of 2001, no commercial vehicles can ply in Delhi unless converted to the single fuel mode of CNG (compressed natural gas).

The Delhi High Court in its July 29 order lambasted Ola saying that the court cannot remain a "bystander" while the online taxi aggregator "pollutes the city" as many of the taxis registered on the platform were diesel driven.

In order to pacify the court, companies such as Ola and Uber have started rapid addition of CNG vehicles on their platforms. Currently, an estimated 25,000 cabs run in the capital aggregated by such taxi apps, with many drivers registered with all three platforms: Meru, Ola and Uber. Ola claims to have added 3,000 new CNG vehicles, last week alone, in Delhi. The company claims to have over 15,000 vehicles on CNG in the capital now. Uber has an estimated 10,000 cabs registered on its platform in the Delhi region. Uber declined to disclose the number of CNG vehicles on its platform in Delhi.

"We are committed to CNG adoption in the state of Delhi," said Deep Singh, business head–north at Ola.

"For drivers who already own a diesel vehicle, this initiative will significantly reduce the financial burden on them with discounts, zero commission and an EMI moratorium for two months," Singh added.

City transport experts are not amused by Ola's move. "If a taxi aggregator has even a single diesel taxi on its platform in the NCT of Delhi, the company is liable for punitive action, as per Supreme Court's direction," said SP Singh, senior fellow at Delhi-based Indian Foundation for Transport Research and Training.